Finance Board Cut Opposed

Some Press To Keep 1-mill Increase Intact

April 08, 2003|By ROSELYN TANTRAPHOL; Courant Staff Writer

SOMERS — Education officials, along with representatives of a town group that pushes for school projects, are questioning whether residents would be as reluctant to pay 0.25 mills as the finance board believes.

Board of finance members last week agreed to propose a 0.75-mill increase for the upcoming fiscal year, rather than the 1-mill figure -- $1 per $1,000 of assessed valuation -- first floated. To make up for the quarter-mill difference, the board also agreed to ask schools to cut $150,000 from the budget prepared for 2003-04.

Parents and board of education members attended a finance board meeting Monday night to express concern about that decision. They said that the twin votes, which came after the finance board had already asked the district to make $200,000 in mid-year cuts, would be detrimental to the quality of education provided by the town's three schools.

School Superintendent Thomas Jefferson said the proposed budget, which was within the ceiling set by finance, is an example of ``extraordinary diligence'' to ensure that spending is kept at a minimum. ``We go down to every line, every nickel,'' he said.

Tim Potrikus of Somers Advocates & Voters for Education, the group that helped get last year's school budget passed, told finance board members that a 0.25-mill difference would mean $37.50 a year more for a home assessed at $150,000. ``The people I talk to aren't going to hedge on $3 a month,'' he said.

Potrikus said his group plans to get the word out about the finance board's move, and will ask residents to communicate their stances on the matter. The public hearing on the budget will be held April 28. The budget referendum comes next month.

Finance board members said they welcome e-mails and letters from residents as a way of gauging resident opinion. But they said again and again that they did not come to this decision lightly, and believe this is the only way to ensure town finances do not get out of hand in the next few years.

The board of finance considered the recent revaluation of town property in settling on its proposed increase. The tax rate usually goes down after a revaluation. The town's current tax rate is 26.26 mills, which translates to about 21 mills given the revaluation figures.

At the end of March, the school district sent out 20 notices to non-tenured teachers notifying them that their contract might not be renewed. It's a typical move carried out annually by school administrations to meet legal requirements for termination notification in the event that they do have to make cuts; if they don't, the teachers are placed back on the payroll.

Jefferson and board of education Chairwoman Kathryn A. Klein said they hope the district can afford to hire back many of those who received notices, but noted that the finance board's vote adds another factor into the mix.